1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to vacuum cleaning accessory tools. In one of its aspects, the invention relates to an accessory tool adapted to be used for grooming an animal such as a pet, for example.
2. Description of Related Art
Grooming tools such as curry combs, bristles, brushes and other types of combs are used to separate hair that has been shed and other debris, such as dirt, dander and insects, from the skin and coat of an animal. The grooming tools can also stimulate the skin of the animal. The combination of a vacuum source with a grooming tool provides suction to remove the hair and debris picked up or disturbed by the grooming tool from the surface being groomed. The vacuum source also minimizes the amount of hair and debris that is released into the atmosphere during the grooming process.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,574,885, 3,955,238 and 5,502,873, disclose incorporating resilient, elastomeric bristles into the suction opening of an accessory tool that can connect to a vacuum source through a conduit. The bristles can be arranged to provide one or more channels for hair and other debris removed by the bristles to be evacuated through the vacuum conduit. The elastomeric material provides flexibility for grooming an irregular surface, such as the body of an animal. However, the flexible bristles may not be rigid enough to dislodge hardened debris or insects that are strongly attached to the skin or the coat of the animal.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,095,853, 5,768,748 and 7,159,274 disclose one or more rows of slightly resilient teeth made from a hard plastic material, similar to a traditional grooming comb, incorporated into the opening of an accessory tool connected with a vacuum source. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,768,747, 6,055,938 and 7,159,274 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0166512 disclose one or more rows of plastic or metal blades, similar to a curry comb, incorporated into the opening of an accessory tool connected with a vacuum source. The one or more rows of a comb or a blade are often rigidly mounted to the accessory tool head providing little or no flexibility of the comb or blade relative to the tool head.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,770,749 and 6,055,938 disclose an arcuate blade with serrations or teeth, similar to a curry comb, incorporated into the opening of an accessory tool that can connect with a vacuum source. U.S. Pat. No. 1,770,749 discloses a spring mounted curry comb surrounded by brush bristles connected with the tool head of an accessory tool. U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,938 discloses an inlet opening to a conduit connected with the vacuum source that extends out over the surface that is being groomed. An arcuate blade with serrations or “teeth” surrounds the inlet opening and is mounted to a first tool head at each end of the arcuate blade. A second tool head is hingedly connected with the first tool head and extends over the area defined by the arcuate blade and down over the sides of the blade.
A similar accessory tool sold under the mark GROOMIE™ has an arcuate blade extending from the inlet opening of the vacuum source conduit. The tool head extends over the area defined by the arcuate blade and down over the sides of the blade. The arcuate blade is connected at each end with the accessory tool near the inlet opening. The blade is also pivotally connected near the apex of the arc to the tool head, providing for oscillation of the blade along an axis parallel to the suction flow from the inlet opening.